Larry Bird Questions NBA’s Quick Trigger on Firing Coaches
The NBA has changed a lot over the years, but something’s really bothering Larry Bird. The basketball legend can’t wrap his head around why teams are so quick to fire their coaches these days.
“If you look around the league, there are guys that are being dismissed and you always wonder why,” Bird told the Boston Globe. “If you’re there every day and see things that are going on.”
It’s a pattern that’s becoming all too familiar – when teams struggle, coaches are usually the first ones shown the door.
Bird isn’t just talking as an outsider. He’s been on both sides of these tough decisions.
As head coach of the Indiana Pacers from 1997 to 2000, he led the team to three straight playoff appearances. They even pushed Michael Jordan’s Bulls to the limit in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals.
His first season as coach? He won NBA Coach of the Year.
Bird later moved upstairs to the front office, serving as the Pacers’ president of basketball operations for 14 years. In 2012, he was named NBA Executive of the Year.
That’s what makes his criticism so powerful. The man has literally done it all in basketball.
What made Bird such a good coach?
Players who worked under him always point to his straightforward approach. He kept things simple and trusted his guys to deliver.
“The game gets tight, he gets more comfortable,” Chris Mullin said back in 1998. “It’s an incredible feeling during a timeout of a tie game. He’ll say, ‘Run this, O.K.? Remember, we did it yesterday in practice? Same thing. You’re open; hit the shot. I saw you make 12 of them yesterday.’ Larry makes the game what it is: simple.”
That ability to keep players confident when the pressure was on defined Bird’s coaching style. His brief three-year stint remains one of the most successful periods in Pacers history.
Larry’s coaching record is pretty impressive for someone who had zero coaching experience before taking the job. He took over a 39-win team and immediately won 58 games. Over three seasons, he averaged 56 wins and even reached the NBA Finals in 2000.
While Bird has no plans to return to coaching, he’s still involved with the game. In 2023, the Pacers brought him back as a consultant.
His simple question about why coaches get fired so quickly challenges how the entire league operates.
When someone who’s succeeded as a player, coach, and executive speaks up, maybe the NBA should listen.
